Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu

Its finally cold and snowy here in good ol' Iowa, so I've been craving some comfort food!  I had four boneless skinless chicken breasts to use up, so I searched for some new crockpot recipes on Allrecipes.com. 

I love chicken cordon bleu, but I never want to take the time to cut and stuff the chicken breasts, so this was an easy way to get the taste with out having to do all the work. 

What you'll need:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

4 ounces sliced ham

4 ounces sliced Swiss cheese

1 (8 ounce) package herbed dry bread stuffing mix

1/4 cup butter, melted

What to do:

1. Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour enough of the soup into a slow cooker to cover the bottom. Layer chicken breasts over the sauce.
2. Cover with slices of ham and then Swiss cheese.
3. Pour the remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers. Sprinkle the stuffing on top, and drizzle butter over stuffing.
4. Cover, and cook on Low for 4 to 6 hours, or 2 to 3 hours on High.

I went to the deli and asked for 1/4 pound of ham, and it was just enough pieces to cover the chicken.  The deli ham was a little more pricey than the others found in the meat and cheese section, but I think its tastier, and this way none of it went to waste.  I also used shredded cheese, which I will add more next time as I really couldn't taste the swiss. 

Mr. Whoa rating:
☺☺☺☺

If stuffing is involved, Mr. Whoa digs it.  He even offered to do the dishes.  ;)

Cheeseburger Cupcakes

Ohhhh, Emily Bites, how I love thee.  Another recipe in the books that was super tasty, and the leftovers were awesome. 

I was kind of weirded out with the whole cupcake thing, but it tasted like an awesome maidrite eggroll.  As you can see from the picture, mine were a little crispy, but they didn't taste burnt.  These too were super easy and delicious.  Sister Whoa was up for dinner last night and all but one cupcake was gone (and I made an extra one).

What you need:

¼ c onion, finely chopped

½ lb 95% lean ground beef

1 T McCormick Hamburger Seasoning

4 Laughing Cow Queso Fresco & Chipotle wedges, chopped

3 T ketchup

1 T mustard

16 wonton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)

4 oz (1 cup) reduced fat 2% shredded cheddar cheese

What to do:

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 8 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.

2.    Mist a large skillet with cooking spray and bring to medium heat. Add chopped onions and sauté until cooked. Add ground beef and Hamburger seasoning and cook until meat is browned. Add mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until mushrooms are browned as well.

3.    In a microwavable bowl, combine meat/mushroom mixture, cheese wedges, ketchup and mustard and stir. Microwave for one minute on high. Stir to combine until meat mixture is fully coated.

4.    Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Using about half of the meat mixture, spoon evenly into the wonton wrappers. Sprinkle about half the cheddar cheese evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.

5.    Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

This recipe yields about 8 cupcakes, but I had enough for 9.  I also omitted the mushrooms since Mr. Whoa is a brat, and I used the garlic and herd laughing cow because I didn't have the queso kind.  I am sketchballs on buying LC cheese that I've never tried, since my disappointment with the Sun Dried Tomato, and it also being expensive as hell. 

Mr. Whoa rating:

☺☺☺☺☺

He snarfed four of the cupcakes down.  He liked the crunchiness of the wonton wrapper.  Sister Whoa asked for a copy of the recipe.  Easy to make and little clean up?  You bet your ass.  I think these would be a lot of fun for a football party or poker night. 

Cheesy Taco Pasta

I have made not one, not two, but three new recipes this week!  I think Mr. Whoa is liking me only working three days a week, because he has a hot dinner on the table every night.  I am having a lot of fun trying new recipes and just overall being more domesticated. 

I found this number on my girl, Emily Bites blog, and decided to cook it up.  We love tacos, we love casseroles, and it was super easy.  If you haven't checked out her blog yet, do it now and thank me later.




What you'll need:

8 oz wheat pasta (I used Barilla medium shells)

1 lb 95% lean ground beef

1 oz packet reduced sodium taco seasoning

1 ½ c chunky salsa

½ c water

¼ c fat free sour cream

¾ c shredded 2 % reduced fat cheddar cheese  (I used the Mexican cheese)

¾ c shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used extra sharp)

Salt & pepper to taste

What to do:

1.    Cook pasta according to package instructions.

2.    While pasta is cooking, place ground beef in a large sauté pan and cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the beef as it cooks. When the beef is cooked, drain any grease from pan. Add the taco seasoning, salsa and water and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or until pasta is done cooking.

3.    Once pasta is done, drain pasta and add it to the beef mixture. Add the sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cheese will melt when thoroughly mixed. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Mr. Whoa rating:

☺☺☺☺  

I think if we would have used white pasta instead of wheat, it would have been five smilies.  Mr. Whoa is okay with wheat pasta, but it always tastes undercooked to me.  I know some boardies were concerned about tasting the sour cream, and honestly, you can't.  Leftovers were great...will def add this in the rotation!

Reuben Pizza



Okay, so I can't slice a pizza evenly.

 So I love reubens.  I also love pizza.  My friend posted on Facebook last week that his better half had made homemade Reuben pizza.  She said it was simple to do, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

What you'll need:
Pizza crust (I used a pre-made one, because I was running late for derby).
1/2-1 cup of 1000 Island dressing  (Adjust sauce to your liking).
1 cup of sauerkraut  (rinse and drain)
1 package of corned beef
2 cups of shredded swiss cheese

What to do:
Add 1000 Island dressing to pizza crust.  Add swiss cheese and layer with corned beef.  Put remaining cheese over the corned beef.  Add sauerkraut.  Bake according to crust directions.

Mr. Whoa rating:
☺☺☺
He said he really liked it, but I took a smiley away due to my liking.  I used slices of swiss cheese, because it was due to expire in the next week and I HATE to throw out food.  The swiss taste was too strong for me.  I think if I stuck to shredded it would have been a little more mild.

Rollin and burnin

So today is the first time I wore my HRM to roller derby practice.  I worked on a couple drills, but did mostly basic skating to build my skills and endurance since I'm a little more behind then the girls I started with (thanks to work).  Who knew practicing falls and stops would be a good calorie burner?  I had my HRM watch under my wrist guard, so I wasn't sure on what I burned till practice was done.  I unstrapped my guards and BAM: 

Thats right....over 1500 calories.  I was quite excited because I met my bestie for lunch and we split some fried pickles and a burger, so I took care of some of that.  I am super sore, but I am really enjoying myself.  I wouldn't even have this type of burn by running, so its stellar to have an activity that I love and that will make my ass smaller eventually.  With derby being twice a week, I may actually reach my 10,000 calorie a month goal this year!

Monthly burned:  1503

Calories to burn:  8497

Time for a bath.  :)

Grocery shopping in style

I was looking for a new menu planning template this morning and I stumbled across this little number from The Feathered Nest.  I used one before that had the days separated by each meal, but since Mr. Whoa and I fend for ourselves for breakfast and lunch, I felt it wasn't necessary.  Plus I love all the fun colors.  I am also liking the "other" catagory, so I can make my to-do and errand list on the side.

Mr. Whoa really doesn't have much of an opinion what is on the table, so I don't have to worry about making two meals, or leaving things out (except for mushrooms).  He has liked every low-cal or Weight Watcher recipe I've made, and most of the time he is clueless that it is remotely good for you.  Such a sneak I am.

I am really exceited to try some new recipes from fellow WW boardie's blog, Emily Bites.  All of her dishes have had rave reviews, and they are quite simple.  How much fun do cheeseburger cupcakes sound?  Those and the taco pasta bake are the first two on the list to try, and I'm hoping there are leftovers so I can enjoy them longer.  ;-)

I actually love grocery shopping.  Unless its a Saturday morning, its very therapudic for me.  Since I am off all week now, I can shop later morning or early afternoon and its wonderful.  Paying for groceries is not so fun, but I'd rather shell out $100/week for food that will last than a couple meals out on the town. 



Can you tell I dig animal print?

 I haaaaaaaate plastic grocery bags, and since they are naughty to the environment anyway, I bring my own tote bags.  I have another one in pink and a blue zebra bag.  My mama bought these for me probably four years ago, and they are still going strong.  Plus you can fit a lot more groceries in a couple of these bags, compared to twenty plastic ones.  The totes are so much easier to carry.  Muy bueno.

I throw my menu planner/grocery list on my little peacock clipboard that I ordered from Kute Klipboards by Amy.  I would like to throw a couple magnents on the back so I can hang it on my fridge.  Could I have made it myself?  Probably.  I want to get this whole cooking and cleaning thing down before I tackle being the craft master. 

Grocery shopping was taken care of yesterday, so we should be good for about another week.  We got to grill out last night!  50 degrees in January, who would have thought? 


Happy shopping folks!

Cheesy Chicken and Stuffing

For those of you who don't know me, I am a crock pot fanatic.  Since Mr. Whoa and I are on opposite schedules, we can both enjoy a hot dish if its made in the crockpot.  It's so easy just to dump stuff in and walk away.  Plus the liners you can buy are a lifesaver on clean up. 

So this week for my new recipe challenge, I have decided to make Cheesy Chicken and Stuffing in the crockpot. 




Leftovers....yummy!


What you need:
1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups of shredded cheese (I used swiss)
1 can of cream of whatever (I used chicken)
1 box (6oz) of stuffing

What to do:
Layer the ingredients in the order listed in a crockpot.
Cook on low 5-6 hours.

Mr. Whoa rating:  ☺☺☺☺☺
Normally when I'm at work I get a "Thanks for dinner" text, but last night he said he loved it and it was very good, followed by several exclaimation points.  So I guess this will be one for the books.